


Baby Bean

by MysticDarling



Series: Parenting, and all that it entails [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Adoption, Aged-Up Character(s), Anxious Azumane Asahi, Baby Yachi Hitoka, Child Ennoshita Chikara, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Couple, Noya is a Good Husband, Suga is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticDarling/pseuds/MysticDarling
Summary: “You got us,” Noya can hear how fast Asahi’s breathing is through the phone, “a baby. A real human baby.”“Yes, I did. "~~~When Noya is left alone in California for a month, he sort of accidently adopts a baby. He and Asahi just have to make a little extra space in their family for a baby girl. Their friends help.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Series: Parenting, and all that it entails [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186406
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Baby Bean

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for checking out this fic and welcome to Haikyuu babies brainrot! This is my first fic and also unbeta'd, so please be nice and feel free to let me know if I've made any errors.
> 
> I'm a sucker for kid fics and there is not enough Asanoya as parents, so here we are! It's all just fluffy, domestic, goo with a hint of friends as family because I'm a sucker for that as well. Suga features strongly, but Daichi is not in this story because in this universe he doesn't meet Suga and the rest of the gang until later. Let me know if you want to see how that happens!
> 
> Quick disclaimer: I have no idea how adoption works in the United States, much less Japan. Let's just imagine that this is a perfect world where my boys can get married and adopt a baby from California!
> 
> Enough with the notes, happy reading! Hope you guys enjoy!

Noya has known Asahi for ten years, dated him for almost nine, and been married to him for nearly two. If there’s an expert on Nishinoya Asahi, it’s Noya. So, he knows that Asahi is easily stressed, especially when Noya is out of the country. But here’s the thing. He’s been in California without Asahi for about a month now, teaching volleyball, teaching surfing, volunteering, and recording videos. He’s been snapchatting Asahi constantly, calling him every night, and video calling twice a week. This is not the longest they’ve been apart by far. Hell, for four years they were long distance while Asahi was in college and building his business. So, really there is nothing wrong right now, and no reason for anyone to be stressed.

Except Noya has just booked a flight back to Tokyo two weeks early and his husband is calling to ask him why.

“I’m just confused Noya. You’re supposed to be out there for another three weeks almost, and you’ve just scheduled a flight for 3 days from now?” Noya hears him sigh and can practically see him tugging at his long hair. “Why? What did you do to have to come back three weeks early?”

Noya waits till he’s sure he’s done, “Aw, maybe I just missed my darling husband and love of my life.”

Asahi snorts, “I’ve missed you too Yuu, but I know you better than that. I just can’t think of any reason that you would come back early.” He pauses, “Oh, Lord. Did I forget an anniversary or something? Our first kiss was in May, we got together in October, your birthday is in October, we first moved in together in April, our engagement anniversary is in May, and we don’t celebrate our wedding anniversary until November, I know because I’ve already started planning for it! I don’t know what I’m missing here Noya!”

“Asahi,” Noya tries to hold in a laugh at how sweet and flustered his husband is, “you big baby, you’re not missing anything. I’m not coming back for any of that. I just missed you a lot, and I also might have gotten us someone.” He mutters the last part as quickly as he can in the hopes that Asahi doesn’t catch it. He does, of course.

“You got us someone.”

“Yes.”

“What kind of someone, Noya? Because I might have gotten used to Cornflake eventually, but that does not mean I’m letting you bring home another snake.”

Noya bounces on his toes and tries to laugh, “don’t worry it’s not another snake. You’re going to freak out, and I know I should have asked you first, but I promise you’ll like her!”

The phone crackles in his ear as Asahi sighs again, “what’s her name?”

“Hitoka.”

“That’s, surprisingly Human sounding,” Noya winces, “And does she need a cage, or a bed, or a crate?”

“Well, the thing is,” Noya looks down at the tiny girl lying on his big hotel room bed, “she kind of needs a crib.”

“A crib? What kind of animal needs a crib, Noya?” and now Noya can hear the panic in Asahi’s voice, the panic that he was sure would come, but was trying so hard to keep at bay.

“The human-kind.” Noya’s voice is as small as he is as he looks down at the bed where their daughter (their daughter!) sleeps.

“The human-kind?” disbelief and panic overrun Asahi’s voice. Noya has to pull the phone away from his ear.

“Yes.”

“You got us,” Noya can hear how fast Asahi’s breathing is through the phone, “a baby. A real human baby.”

“Yes, I did. Babe, babe, Asahi, breathe,” he tries to stay calm, but he can hear Asahi breathing harder and faster and he knows, Noya knows that Asahi is close to a panic attack. “Asahi listen to me. Breathe in for seven, out for eight. With me now, in, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good, like that, keep breathing. Sit down, are you sitting down? Just breathe with me.” It takes a few more minutes before Asahi calms down enough that Noya can’t hear him panicking through the phone. “Okay, now go set on a pot of water, and grab a blanket or a sweatshirt or something. We’re going to talk through this, okay?”

“Okay.”

Noya smiles, “good.”

Once Asahi is settled on the couch with a blanket and tea, they return to the issue at hand.

“Hitoka?”

Noya sighs this time, “Yes. Remember when we first moved in together and you told me what a good dad I was to Honey?”

“Noya, Honey is a dog, this is a real human child.”

Noya can’t help his laugh at Asahi’s dry tone. “I know, I know. But when we were both back in Japan, and we were babysitting Ryu and Kiyoko’s kids, I looked at you and I was like, wow, Asahi would be a great dad. And then I was like, oh my God, do I want kids with Asahi? And it turns out I do want kids with you. And we talked about it before, but that was way back in high school when the thought was super far off. And I was totally gonna talk it over with you again, but then we went to California, and then you went home, and then I helped out at the local orphanage, and I found this absolutely precious little bean, and she’s less than a month old, and it just seemed so perfect Asahi! But I’m only fostering her now, so if you don’t like her, we can, you know, send her back,” Noya can hear his voice fall, and he fights to bring it back up, “but if we love her, we can adopt her! And I’m not entirely sure how that would work because, you know, we’re in Japan, but”

“Noya.” Noya shuts up quickly, glad that Asahi can make sense of, and cut off his rambled thoughts, “Can I see her?”

“Oh,” Noya lets out a breathless laugh, “yeah, I’ll skype you, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Noya hangs up and looks over at Hitoka who is still napping peacefully on his bed. “Alright baby girl, time to woo your touchan with how precious you are. You need to be in peak form okay?” He laughs at his own foolishness, then accepts Asahi’s skype call.

“Here, give me a second, she’s lying on my bed.” Noya adjusts the camera, “there she is.”

“Oh, she’s so tiny,” Asahi melts into a soft, smitten smile, “Hitoka, huh.”

Noya reached over to run his fingers over her tiny, clenched fists. “Her mom and dad were both Japanese American; I think they were really young though. She’s got the prettiest big brown eyes, Asahi. And her eyelashes? Gosh she could blink a couple times and have anything she ever wanted.”

Asahi melted a bit more, “she sounds perfect, like a little angel.”

Noya grins, he never doubted that Asahi would love her, but seeing him melt at the sight of her is all the confirmation he needs. “See what I mean? I saw her and there was no way I could not adopt her. She’s a gift to this earth, Asahi! An angel among mortals.”

His husband laughs, “Alright, alright. I can’t wait to meet her in person. Um, what-what do we need to get? Like I know we need a crib, but what else? Oh God, she needs a room!”

“Hey, hey, no stress, babe. We’ll clean out the guest room for her and talk to Kiyoko and Ryu about what we need. They’ve had three kids now, if anyone knows what we need, it’s them.”

“Right.”

“Right! And I can talk to Morisuke about what he and Lev did when they first got Sou. I know Sou wasn’t as little, but at least we’re already married, you know? They weren’t even dating when Sou came along, and they’re still not married,” he laughs, and Asahi lets out a slightly stiff laugh as well.

“Suga might know what we need too. They’re a pediatric nurse, they deal with babies all the time.”

“Exactly! See, we’ve got tons of friends to help us with this! I bet if you tell Suga they’ll organize a baby shower, and we’ll get everything we need for Hitoka from our friends.”

“You think? Doesn’t that feel a bit like taking advantage of our friends though? What if they get the wrong things, what if they’re not safe?”

“Breathe, Asahi. No, it’s not taking advantage of our friends if we ask for baby gifts. Remember Chikara’s baby shower? We were all broke right out of college, and we still showed up with enough stuff to keep that baby in luxury for years! And the twins? I’m sure they have a whole second dresser for the number of matching onesies everyone bought!”

“They did get way too many matching onesies,” Asahi lets out a breath, “alright. I’ll call Suga tomorrow. Do you want to tell the Tanakas, or do you want me to?”

“Ah- I’ll call them tomorrow. I know Ryu will want to scream about it, it’s better if he screams at me, so I can scream back. You can talk to Kiyoko after though.”

“Good idea, make sure to talk to Yaku, as well.”

“I will. And,“ Noya cuts himself off with a wide yawn.

“Oh no. Noya! What time is it there?”

“Er,” Noya glances at the clock, “honestly, I didn’t even feel tired until a second ago!”

“Noya,” Asahi give an exasperated groan. “LA is 17 hours behind Tokyo, which means,” he trails off, waiting for Noya to fill in the rest.

“I know, I know, it’s 1:17 in the morning here. Honestly though, I was just enjoying talking to you!”

“And you’ll be exhausted tomorrow for it. Go to sleep, Yuu. And take care,” he takes a shaky breath, “take care of our daughter for me. I want you both back home safe in 3 days.”

Noya can’t help the elation he feels building in his chest hearing Asahi call Hitoka their daughter, “I’ll be fine! But I will. I love you, Asahi.”

“I love you, too. Sleep well.”

With that, Noya hangs up the call and collapses into bed curling around his precious little girl.

~~~

The next three days pass in a blur until suddenly, Noya is boarding his flight back to Tokyo and ignoring the glares he gets from other passengers when they spot the infant in his arms. Noya tries to ignore them because, honestly, his daughter is an angel and the most precious human to exist. How dare they get upset for her being on the plane? If anything, they should be grateful for being allowed in her presence! Honestly.

About three hours into the twelve-hour flight, Noya also wants to glare at his daughter. He never realized just how loud she could be until he was caught mid tantrum in a cramped tin can hurtling over the Pacific Ocean.

The flight passes in a haze of sleep, movies, trying to quiet Hitoka, and pacing up and down the isles to get her back to sleep. By the time the plane lands, Noya is utterly and completely exhausted. All he wants is to fall into his own soft bed with his giant teddy bear of a husband and have complete silence for 12 hours.

Noya walks through the airport, trying to put away his passport and fish out his phone, while not dropping his water bottle or jostling Hitoka enough to make her start fussing again. She’s awake right now, simply observing the airport with big eyes and tiny fists clenched in Noya’s shirt. Noya is just about to stop and set down his water bottle and passport when he hears his name called out in a familiar deep voice.

“Asahi?” Noya glances to the left to find his husband easily making his way through the crowd with a silly grin on his face.

“Yuu! I missed you.” Then, he’s crushed in a hug. Noya can’t quite move his arms for fear of dropping all his stuff, and more importantly their daughter, but he nestles his face in the crook of Asahi’s shoulder and breathes in the scent of his conditioner.

“Asahi! I missed you too, babe.”

Asahi finally pulls away and immediately glances down to the little girl bundled in Noya’s arms. “This is her?”

Noya snorts, “No, babe, this is just some other random baby I picked up in the airport.” Asahi levels a glare at him, and Noya drops the snark, “yeah, this is Hitoka. Our daughter.”

“Our daughter,” Asahi repeats quietly. He reaches out one big hand to gentle stroke her cheek. “Wow, I almost can’t believe… our daughter.”

Noya gives a soft laugh at the mix of adoration and shock he sees on Asahi’s face. “Do you want to hold her?”

Asahi nearly chokes, “what?”

“Do you want to hold her?”

“No, I mean, no, I couldn’t possibly. She’s just so small, and I don’t know what I’m doing, and”

“Asahi,” his husband looks up from where he was staring at the ground when Noya speaks, “It’s alright. You don’t have to hold her right now. Can you hold my drink though? And maybe help me grab my luggage?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Of course.” Asahi takes the water bottle from Noya’s hand as well as his passport which he tucks in one of the pockets of Noya’s backpack. “Let’s go get your stuff.”

Noya smiles and shifts to take his husband’s hand in his as they start towards the luggage carousel.

“How was your flight home?”

“Ugh,” Noya moans and leans over to rest his weight on Asahi, “so long! Way too long, especially since this little bean would wake up and sob every few hours. Oh, Asahi it was awful.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Asahi bends down to press a kiss to the top of Noya’s head, “just a little longer until we’re home though. Oh! I think I see your bag.”

They get through the rest of the airport with minimal difficulties. They board the train out of the airport and manage to find two seats.

“Hey, Hitoka, are you ready to finally go home?” Noya coos and tickles under her chin. She gazes up at him with dark brown eyes as if trying to analyze him. Then, her eyes start to water, “Oh, no, no, no, no,” Hitoka bursts into tears, “shit.”

“Noya! No cursing in front of our baby,” Asahi sends him a stern look. Then he turns a panicked gaze on Hitoka, “Oh God, why is she crying? Noya, what does she want? How do we make her stop crying?”

Noya starts lightly bouncing Hitoka in his arms, “Well, there’s not much she wants at this age. She either wants to sleep, wants to eat, or wants her diaper changed.” Asahi’s gaze bounces between Noya and Hitoka and he starts to ring his hands together, “Hey, no stress. There’s a bottle in the outside pocket of my bag, we’ll see if she wants that. No, other pocket. If not, then we just keep her as comfortable as possible until we get home.”

Asahi hands him the bottle and Noya lifts it to Hitoka, “is this what you want baby?” She starts greedily sucking it down and Asahi gives a sigh of relief.

After a few minutes of silence, Noya turns again to his husband, “do you want to feed her? It’s pretty easy, and you know she’ll be pretty quiet and still when you’re holding her. Also, we’re sitting down now, so it would be hard to drop her.”

Asahi’s eyes widened but he nodded, “yeah, I-I do want to hold her.”

After a few seconds of shifting and coaching Asahi on how to properly hold her, they get settled again, and Asahi holds the bottle towards her. She latches onto the bottle and snuggles into Asahi’s arms in the same move.

“See! You’re a natural, babe!”

Asahi just stares down at Hitoka, at their daughter. “Noya, Yuu, she’s perfect. I’m never letting her go.”

Noya pulled his legs up and shifts so that his head is resting on Asahi’s broad shoulders, “Isn’t she?” he yawns, “I think ‘m gonna take a nap now. Wake me when we get to our station?”

“Noya, it’s a fifteen-minute train ride.”

“Yeah,” he snuggles into Asahi’s side and promptly falls asleep.

The rest of the trip home passes in a blur. Noya vaguely recalls that Asahi carried Hitoka for the rest of the journey, and that he repeatedly fell asleep on their trains. By the time they get home, Asahi simply lets Noya collapse into their bed while he handles Noya’s luggage.

~~~

The next thing he knows, Asahi is gently shaking him awake while Marshmallow snores peacefully beside him.

“Nng. ‘Sahi, I’m tired.” Noya knows he’s whining but damnit he hardly got any sleep on his flight.

“I know, Yuu, but if you sleep too much now, you’ll be jet lagged for days. Also, Suga’s coming over for dinner and bringing a crib with them,” Asahi turns to where Hitoka is sleeping in the crook of his arm, “did you hear that, angel? Suga’s bringing you a bed all your own! That way you don’t have to share with me and Noya and both the dogs.”

“Urg, alright. What time?”

“It’s 4:15 now, Suga will be over at seven.”

Noya sighs, but gets out of bed, stretching widely. He grins sharply when he sees Asahi’s gaze lingering on where his shirt has ridden up and his pants have sunk low. He trails a hand down his exposed naval, “Aw, babe, you missed me, didn’t you? Long nights with just you and your hand?”

Asahi turns a brilliant shade of red and yanks his gaze up to Noya’s face. He groans, “You’re awful, and terrible, and almost cuter than I remember.” Noya feels heat rising to his own cheeks, “also, right now, I’m still holding our baby, and you still need a shower.”

“Babe! Way to ruin the mood!” Noya flops dramatically back onto the bed in defeat. Marshmallow wakes up rather suddenly and trots over to lick Noya’s face.

Asahi turns to leave the room, “take a shower, Yuu. I need to figure out dinner.” Noya only lets out one last pitiful whine before Asahi has vanished to the kitchen. Then, he gives Marshmallow another pet before he pushes her away and hauls himself out of bed to trudge into their bathroom.

Once he’s finished pouting, the shower feels like the greatest thing Noya has ever experienced. The hot water seems to wash away all the hours of cramped quarters and exhaustion. The soap swirls down the drain along with the last of his irritation. He’s combing Asahi’s expensive conditioner through his hair when his peaceful shower is interrupted by Asahi bursting into the bathroom with a screaming Hitoka.

“Noya, Noya, help! I don’t know why she’s crying! I promise she was fine just a minute ago, but now she’s crying, and I don’t know what to do.” Asahi yanks open the shower curtain and shoves a still screaming Hitoka into Noya’s bare chest.

“Asahi!”

“I had her in the sling while I was cooking, maybe the stove was too hot? Maybe she doesn’t like the smell of curry? Maybe Honey’s barking scared her?” Asahi starts to pace the floor of the bathroom tugging his hands through his hair, “I’m already a terrible dad.”

Noya rapidly adjusts Hitoka, who is quickly getting soaked, and turns off the shower. “Asahi, darling, look at me,” Asahi does, and promptly bursts into tears as well. Noya sighs. Great now he has two sobbing messes and he’s still naked with conditioner in his hair. He starts gently bouncing and rocking Hitoka, “you’re not a terrible dad. Did you try feeding her?” Asahi nods miserably. Noya hums and starts gently cooing at Hitoka, “Are you tired, angel? Is that why you’re upset? Do you need a nap?” she continues to sob, “do you maybe need a diaper change? Let’s check your diaper darling.” He looks at Asahi again, “We’ll figure this out, Asahi, sit down and take deep breaths. There’s no need to panic, everything’ll be fine,” He steps out of shower, still dripping, and places one of their towels on the counter for a makeshift changing station. He checks Hitoka’s diaper, which sure enough, is soiled. Feeling slightly better after identifying the problem, he turns to his husband, who is now sitting on the toilet with his head in his hands. “Asahi?” he looks up, “breath, it’s going to be alright. You did nothing wrong; she just needs her diaper changed. How about you breathe with me and then go get her diaper bag. It should have everything we need in it.”

Asahi takes a few deep breaths with Noya, then stands and walks out of the bathroom to find the diaper bag. Noya turns back to Hitoka and reaches over to remove her diaper, only to realize that he is still dripping wet and naked, and that she is also wet from being unceremoniously shoved in with him. He curses and grabs his towel, patting Hitoka dry and drying his arms and hands before wrapping it around his waist.

Asahi returns and Noya shows him how to change Hitoka’s diaper. Then he scoops her up and cradles her to his chest, cooing and rubbing her back. After a few more tense, scream filled minutes, she calms down enough to stop crying and settle into Noya’s chest.

Noya looks to Asahi, who has tear stains running down his cheeks, but has similarly stopped crying. Wordlessly, Noya holds out the arm not holding Hitoka up, and Asahi practically crumples into Noya.

“I’m so sorry. She just starting crying, and I had no idea what to do, and you’ve done this for a few days now,” he lets out a choked noise, “I’m a terrible dad and a terrible husband!”

Noya hums and gently runs his fingers through Asahi’s long hair, “you’re not a terrible dad, and you’re certainly not a terrible husband. I would have taken the pets and left you already if you were. You’re just inexperienced! Do you know how long it took me to figure out what she wanted the first few days? Listen to me, Asahi. It was unfair of me to leave you alone with her for so long. You only just met her a few hours ago, and I barely gave you any time to even prep for her before I brought her home. It is completely reasonable to feel overwhelmed. I mean, I’m still overwhelmed. We just have to take it slow and learn together, alright?”

Asahi sniffles, but smiles into Noya’s shoulder, “alright.”

“Great! Now can you take her back for just a few more minutes? I still need to rinse the conditioner out of my hair, and I can’t do that while I’m holding her.”

“Ah! Right! I’m so sorry, love,” Asahi unfolds himself from Noya’s embrace, looking abashed. He slowly, carefully takes their daughter back into his arms and settles her once again into the sling.

“Thanks, babe! Now, I’m going to finish my shower, and you’re going to go make sure you haven’t burned our dinner. Then, I’ll be out with you and Hitoka in the kitchen before you know it!” He leans in to give Asahi a chaste, reassuring kiss before he leaves.

Once Asahi leaves the bathroom, Noya sighs and quickly steps back in the shower. As he finally washes the conditioner out of his hair, Noya starts to doubt. Of course, he had known that it wasn’t the best idea to randomly adopt an infant without even informing his husband, but they had talked about having kids way back before they got married, and they’ve been married for three years now. In the moment it seemed so right; there was a two-week-old, perfectly healthy little girl who needed a loving family, and Noya and Asahi could provide it. But besides loving her to pieces no matter what, what did they really know about raising a kid? They had no baby supplies, no prior experience, Noya didn’t even have a permanent job. The most experience he and Asahi had with babies was when Chikara was born five years ago and then two and a half year later when the twins were born. Though he loved Ryu and Kiyoko’s kids to death, at the end of the day, he could give them back to their parents. He can’t do that with Hitoka.

Noya shakes off his doubts and steps out of the shower. Right now, he needs to get dressed and go find his husband and daughter before one of them starts to panic again. He can’t be spiraling himself if he’s going to keep everyone else calm.

Finally, Noya gets dressed and finds Asahi and Hitoka in the kitchen. “So, what do you have cooking there, Asahi-san?”

“Noya,” Asahi groans as he always does when Noya adds a -san to his name.

Noya laughs, “sorry babe, is that curry?” he hops up to sit on the counter beside the stove and holds out his arms to take Hitoka. Asahi carefully detaches the sling and hands her over.

“Yeah, I figured it was easy enough to make, but nice enough for company.”

Noya snorts, “Is Suga even considered company at this point? I mean, they’re over half the time they aren’t working.”

“Noya, be nice,” Asahi chastises.

“I am nice! I think Suga’s great! I’m just saying that they might be upset that we’re turning the guest room into Hitoka’s room. Then again, they might be excited and think that this means they can snuggle with you again at night like when you guys were roommates.”

“Hey! I love Suga’s snuggles. You love Suga’s snuggles. Suga is an excellent snuggler.”

“That’s true,” Noya looks down at Hitoka, “aw, Hitoka-chan, you’re going to love your oj-, ob-, er, say Asahi, what is the gender-neutral version of ojisan and obasan?”

Asahi looks up from where he’s chopping vegetables, “I’m not sure.” They sit in silence for a minute pondering.

“Oh! I know! What do Ryu’s kids call Suga?”

“Ah, I think they just call them Suga-chan.”

“Alright. Hitoka, you are going to love your Suga-chan. They give the best cuddles! Maybe not as good as your touchan though! Oh! That reminds me!” Noya turns back to focus on Asahi, “what is Hitoka going to call us? We can’t both be Touchan! That would be so confusing. I was thinking that I could be daddy and you could be Touchan!”

Asahi smiles soft and sweet, “that sounds perfect, love.”

The rest of the evening passes quickly until there’s a knock on the door letting them know that Suga has arrived. Before Noya can move from setting the table, the door is thrown open and Suga is taking off their shoes in the entry. Marshmallow and Honey are running past in an instant, excited to greet their guest.

“Asahi! Noya! Where is my niece?” He pets the dogs, cooing over their soft fur and wagging tails, “I brought beer, by the way, to celebrate! This is a most momentous occasion!”

“Suga!” Noya practically flings himself at the other. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“That’s because you’ve been gone halfway around the world, Noya! Say, how was California? I’ve heard great things,” Suga steps back from their embrace, “hi Asahi! How are you,” they open their arms for another hug and Asahi happily steps out of the kitchen to sink into Suga’s hug.

“It was amazing! Did you know that I was teaching surfing and beach volleyball every day? There was this great little stall down on the boardwalk too, oh wow. Suga you could get two fish tacos and a margarita there for nothing, it was the best.”

Suga whistles in appreciation, “remind me to go with you on your next trip.” They finally step away from Asahi, who looks simultaneously relieved and alarmed by Suga’s presence, and move to the sink to wash their hands, “now, my niece?”

“She’s in her carrier on the counter,” Asahi says. Suga carefully dries his hands and walks over to where Noya is taking her out to be held.

“Oh, hello! Gosh aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.” Suga looks up from Hitoka to Noya, who is still holding her, “may I?” Noya nods and Suga carefully lifts Hitoka into their arms. “Oh, how precious! How beautiful and sweet you are! My perfect little Hitoka! I brought something for you, sweetheart! Yeah!” He gently strokes her baby fat with one finger and ducks down to smell the top of her head, “Gosh, that baby smell is addicting! You are so absolutely perfect aren’t you Hitoka-chan.”

Asahi slips over to wrap an arm around Noya. “I’m sorry,” he says, soft enough that Suga, still cooing over Hitoka, can’t hear.

“For what?”

“For earlier, when I freaked out. I’m sorry for disrupting your shower and panicking on you, I just know that you’ll be able to calm me down.”

“Babe!” Noya snuggles into Asahi’s side, “that’s sweet. I accept your apology and forgive you. After all, it’s also my fault for not really showing you how to help calm Hitoka. So, I’m also sorry for leaving you to deal all on your own.”

“But,” Noya elbows Asahi in the side and gives him a look. It’s something that they are working on. Noya had a habit of not apologizing enough, and Asahi apologized too much. So, they admit their part in the problem and forgive each other. “I accept your apology and forgive you too.”

“Great!” Noya turns back to Suga, “So, I thought you were bringing a bed.”

Suga finally stops cooing at Hitoka, “Yup! It’s still in my car, that’s all. I bought it yesterday and just never took it out. Do you want to come help me get it?”

“Yeah, sure,” he looks up at his husband, “are you okay staying here and watching the bean?” the nickname startles a laugh out of Suga, but Asahi just nods.

“I should be fine. I’ll finish dishing up dinner as well, I’m sure you’re both hungry.”

Suga reluctantly passes Hitoka back to her dad and they and Noya head down to the parking garage to retrieve the crib.

“So, I heard the story from Asahi, but not from you. Do you mind telling me?”

Noya takes a breath, “well,” he releases it, “it was probably only slightly more impulsive than you’re thinking it was.”

Suga laughs, “first Tanaka and now you. Corrupting your perfectly sensible partners into having surprise children and then making me pay for all their stuff. I can’t believe I’m the pediatric nurse and I’m the only one without a kid!”

“You’re also the only one not married,” Noya says, smirking. Suga, unsurprisingly, jabs him in the ribs, hard. “Sorry! Sorry! I’m just saying! Also, it’s not really Kiyoko and Tanka’s fault they had a kid early.”

Suga raises a single eyebrow at him. Then they say, “you’re right, it’s Tanka’s fault for not pulling out.”

“Suga!” Noya cackles manically while Suga giggles beside him.

“Gosh, I missed you. Everyone misses you when you go away for months on end.”

Noya pouts, “I’m sorry. I miss you guys too. Maybe you can come with me on my next one!”

“With my job, not likely,” Suga says snorting.

As the walk the rest of the way to Suga’s car, Noya thinks about his trips. He’s been leaving Japan for months on end to explore the world since he graduated high school. It’s his favorite thing to go out and meet new people and explore other cultures. Noya knows more languages now than he could have named in high school. Touring the world is the best decision he ever made, besides maybe marrying Asahi, saying hi to Ryu on the first day of school, and deciding to hold Hitoka. The point is, travelling and picking up jobs wherever he goes _is_ his dream job, but now, well, aren’t kids supposed to have stability. Noya’s childhood wasn’t terrible by any means, but he grew up with his grandparents taking care of him and his sisters while his parents worked nonstop. He hardly ever saw them. Is that really how he wants to raise Hitoka?

Noya turns to address Suga as they haul the box with the crib out of the car, “Suga, do you think I should stop travelling all the time and get a real job?”

Suga nearly drops the box.

“I know I just said that I miss you while you’re away, but don’t go throwing it all away for me! I mean, what would your husband think!”

Noya laughs, “I meant because of Hitoka. It’s not good for babies to not see one parent half the time, right? And I don’t want Asahi to feel like it’s all on him to provide for her. I love finding new jobs everywhere I go, and I love making travel videos and vlogs, but that doesn’t actually make much money you know?” Noya grunts as he reaches to push the button for the elevator, “And I know babies cost a lot of money.”

Suga frowns, “that’s surprisingly thoughtful and mature of you Noya.”

“Hey! I’m an adult now! I can be thoughtful and mature!” he walks backwards into the elevator, the two of them and the crib just barely fitting, “Besides, I’m married with a kid, you don’t even have a boyfriend,” Noya sticks his tongue out at Suga, “who’s mature now?”

“Cruel, Noya. Truly cruel. But I suppose that you are much more mature now, even if you did just impulsively adopt a child without telling said husband.”

“Details, Suga, details.”

Suga takes one hand off the box to wave it through the air, “anyways, yes. I think it would probably be a good idea to get a quote unquote real job. Like you said, babies are expensive, and they stay expensive for the rest of their life until you kick them out at eighteen,” He gives a dry laugh, “I don’t want you to give up on your dreams, and I know that what you do has been your dream since high school, but it may be smart to have a more steady, higher paying job for a while.”

Noya nods, thinking it over as they exit the elevator. While travelling the world has been his dream for years and years, he has had another dream more recently. He wants to have a family with Asahi. A proper family with a kid of their own that they spoil to death. As soon as he saw Hitoka, he knew that he wanted to teach her volleyball, and help her with school projects late at night, and go on family vacations with her and Asahi. Maybe, he is giving up his dream by adopting her, but maybe, he’s simply incorporating his old dream with his new dream.

“Traveling has always been what I loved to do, but Asahi and Hitoka are the people I love,” Suga smiles and Noya chews on his lower lip, they stop outside the door to his apartment. “I think I will get a steadier job. I won’t stop travelling completely, but I want to travel with my family, and I want to help give Hitoka and Asahi the life they deserve, you know?”

“I think that’s a great plan Noya.” Suga is practically spilling over with pride, his smile wide and his eyes loving.

Noya blushes, “Stop giving me that look, you’re worse than Asahi’s mom! I’m just changing up my life a little. It sucks being away from Asahi so much anyways.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just so proud of you! Look at this great life you’re building with Asahi, look at everything you’ve already done! I can’t help but be proud of you.”

Noya rolls his eyes, but feels his chest glow with warmth, “thanks. Now, where is my husband,” he kicks the door and yells, “Asahi! Babe, open the door!”

He hears the dogs start barking and door swings open a second later to reveal Asahi’s worried face, “don’t yell so loud, the neighbors will get upset! And what if Hitoka starts crying again from all this noise?” He steps to the side and Noya and Suga walk in.

“Whoops! Sorry Asahi.”

After the crib is put away in Noya and Asahi’s room, the three of them sit down to dinner, with Hitoka settled in the sling against Noya’s chest. They talk for a while about Noya’s time in California and he pulls out his phone to show pictures. Suga talks about their job and the sometimes crazy parents he has to deal with, and the baby shower they’re throwing for Hitoka.

After the table is cleared, Asahi and Suga disappear to set up the new crib while Noya scrubs the dishes. Today was Asahi’s first-time meeting Hitoka, and although it was really only a half day, and Noya missed a lot of their interactions due to being asleep, he can tell that Asahi already loves her. Noya just knows that if he were to even suggest giving her back to the orphanage she came from, his gentle giant of a husband would immediately burst into tears.

Noya hums a does a spin once he puts the last plate on the drying rack. Before he goes and checks on Asahi and Suga, he needs to feed his furry and scaley babies. “Honey, Marshmallow,” he whistles, “come on girls, it’s dinner time!” The dogs run out from master bedroom, where he’s sure they were being less than helpful in the assembling of the crib. “Good girls!” he praises, “alright you both sit there. Hey! I said sit, Honey!” he scoops their food into their bowls and sets it down in front of them while he continues to talk, “what precious, darling daughters I have! Yes, I do! Are you girls excited about the new addition to the family? Do you like your human sister?” Marshmallow whines pitifully while staring longingly at her food. “Alright, alright, I get it, you’re hungry. Ok, take it,” as soon as the command word is out of his mouth, both dogs are scarfing down their dinner.

He moves on to feed the guinea pigs, pouring food in their communal bowl, before moving on to cornflake. “Hey, beautiful.” He carefully unlocks her cage and allows her to slither up to rest on his shoulders. Her tongue flicks the shell of his ear when he pulls the package of mice out of the freezer, and Noya laughs. Once the mice are defrosted, they head back to Cornflake’s cage so that she can eat. After making sure that her cage is properly locked, Noya takes the dogs outside to go to the bathroom. Finally, Noya heads towards his room.

When he walks in, he finds Suga showing Asahi how to use some sort of baby monitor while Hitoka peacefully sleeps in her new crib. After a minute Suga and Asahi stand up.

“Alright, I’m going to head home now. Don’t forget,” they put their finger in Asahi’s face, making him go cross-eyed, Noya stifles a laugh, “everyone is coming here tomorrow for your baby shower, around eleven-ish. Don’t worry about making food for everyone beforehand, we’ll help once we get here.” Suga grins then and gives them both a hug, “congrats on fatherhood you two! I’ll see myself out.”

Noya snickers, “be safe going home! Don’t get lost!” Asahi lightly smacks his arm, but Suga just gives him a little salute before leaving to his own apartment 2 doors down and across the hall.

They get ready for bed quickly after Suga leaves. Asahi changing into pajamas and getting into bed. Before he climbs into bed with his husband, Noya walks over to Hitoka’s crib and smooths down her soft, blond hair. He drops a kiss on her forehead before heading to bed. Asahi wraps his arms around Noya’s waist as soon as he sits down. Noya laughs and starts stroking his long hair.

“Missed you,” Asahi mumbles where his face is smashed into Noya’s middle.

“Aww, babe, I missed you too,” Noya continues to card his fingers through Asahi’s soft hair as he contemplates how to say what he wants to tell Asahi. “You know, if we decide to adopt Hitoka,”

Asahi sits up quickly, his eyes wide and desperate, “We’re adopting Hitoka, we can’t just, we can’t,” he pauses to take a breath, “I’m not giving her back now. She’s our daughter, Noya. I know that we’re not quite prepared for this, but she’s ours, and I love her.”

Noya’s grin is wide and happy, “for real?” Asahi nods rapidly. Noya throws his arms around him and squeezes tightly. “Good, I knew you’d love her, but I was worried you’d get scared.” He knew that Asahi wanted to adopt her, but honestly, he didn’t think that Asahi knew that yet.

“Oh, I’m still scared, definitely scared, but I love her anyways. And besides, I’m raising her with you, and you’re fearless.”

“I love you, so much.”

“I love you too, Yuu.” Asahi settles back down into Noya’s lap with his arms wrapped around his waist.

“Oh! You derailed me,” Noya tries to frown at his husband, “I was going to tell you something.”

“What were you going to tell me?”

Noya laughs at his husband’s patient tone, “I was going to tell you, that since we have Hitoka now, I should probably stay home a bit more. When I was in California without you, I missed you so much it hurt sometimes. Then, I saw Hitoka, and it was like I was seeing everything I wanted in my future, you know? It was like, oh, I want to have a family with Asahi, and I want to be there to watch our family grow. So, I think,” Noya pauses, “I think that I’ll stop travelling so much. When I travel, I want you to be there, and I want Hitoka to be there.”

Asahi gazes up at him with a soft smile, but his brow is wrinkled in worry, “but your job?”

Noya reaches down to smooth his fingers over Asahi’s forehead, “I’ll get a new one. I need to get something that pays better anyways so that I can spoil our little girl.

“That sounds good Yuu,” Asahi says, then he tugs at Noya shoulders. Noya happily complies and leans down to plant a soft kiss on his husband’s lips. They kiss softly for a few minutes before Noya yawns obnoxiously. Asahi laughs and tugs him down into bed beneath the covers. “Sleep, you’ve had a long day,” and Noya is happy to do just that.

~~~

The world is soft and dark still when Noya wakes. His legs are tangled with his husband’s and Marshmallow is a warm presence against his back. Then a harsh cry breaks the stillness and Noya realizes why he woke up.

With a groan, Noya pulls himself out of bed and walks over to the crib. He scoops up Hitoka who is crying and waving tiny fists through the air, her legs kicking at nothing. He sways carefully holding her close to his chest while he rubs her back and tries to quiet her. After a few minutes of walking in circles around his room and humming softly, she starts to quiet down and settle again. Noya presses a kiss to the top of her head and starts to put her back in her crib, but as soon as she is no longer pressed into his chest, she starts to sob again. Asahi slowly sits up to grumble “what’s goin’ on?” With a sigh, he starts rocking her again and tells his husband to go back to sleep. He smiles when Asahi bonelessly falls back into the bed, then heads to the bathroom to help muffle Hitoka’s cries. He hooks a finger in her diaper to check for wetness and finds that it is soiled.

“Oh angel, no wonder you were upset.”

Once the diaper is changed, Hitoka is happy to settle back down in her crib and Noya is finally able to collapse back into his own bed.

~~~

When he wakes again, the world is bright. His husband and Marshmallow are also gone from the bed leaving just him and Honey, who is curled near his feet. By the time he’s brushed his teeth, the clock reads 9:42 and Noya feels more human than he has since he entered the airport in California.

Noya practically skips into the kitchen, delighted to see the fresh pot of coffee left for him.  
“Asahiii, you left me coffee!” a sound of agreement comes from the living room, so after pouring himself a cup with lots of cream and sugar, Noya heads there. Upon entering, he spots Asahi sketching in one of his notebooks while Hitoka lays on her belly on a blanket on the floor. “’Sahi, Toka! Good morning!”

“Good morning Noya, I assume you slept well?” Asahi looks up with an amused smile.

“Yup!” Noya chirps, leaning against the couch, “Hitoka only woke me up once last night, that’s definitely a new record. Also, I got to sleep in my own bed, cuddling my husband for the first time in a while.”

“I’m glad you slept well; I was worried Hitoka would wake you when she woke me up the other times.”

“Oh, ‘Sahi, I’m sorry she woke you.”

Asahi blushes and waves a hand through the air to dismiss Noya’s worry, “it’s all good, I didn’t want her to wake you after how little sleep you had yesterday. And I was actually able to figure out why she was crying each time and get her back to sleep.”

“That’s awesome, babe! I’m so proud of you!” Noya sets his coffee down and walks over to squish Asahi’s cheeks between his hands, “I told you that you’re a great dad!”

Asahi blushes red and tries to mumble something between his squished cheeks before giving up. It’s adorable and Noya laughs before dropping his hands to cradle his husband’s face and drop a sweet kiss on his lips. If possible, Asahi flushes harder.

Noya spins away to go check on his daughter. He crouches down beside her and gently lifts her to face him, “hello, bean. How are you this morning?” She makes a small sound, then reaches out to place her hand on his cheek. He coos at her in response then says, “so what have you been doing all morning with your Touchan?” He turns to glance at Asahi.

“Well, I made and ate breakfast, fed the babies, Hitoka and I took Marshmallow and Honey for a walk, and then she had a little tummy-time while I worked on some sketches,” he glances away nervously, “When I was researching babies and what they need and how they grow, it said that having them lay down on their stomach for a little bit was important, I hope that’s right. She’s only been like that for five minutes now, but the article said to start with short time periods, so it might be a good idea to switch her around soon.”

“Yup! You got it, babe,” he flashes Asahi a reassuring smile then turns back to Hitoka, “sounds like you had an exciting morning Toka-chan! Did you have fun with your Touchan? Aw!” He stands and spins her around, before gently placing her back down on the floor and heading to the kitchen to get breakfast.

He’s barely started eating his omelet when Honey alerts him that someone just came inside.

“Good morning! How are my two favorite new dads doing?”

“Suga?” Noya looks towards the entrance where Suga is strolling in, reusable grocery bags in one hand and gift in the other.

“Suga, the party doesn’t start for another forty-five minutes, what are you doing here?” Asahi asks.

Suga scoffs, “I came to make sure this place was still clean enough for a party, and to decorate! You can’t have a baby shower without cutesy decorations.” They set their things down on the kitchen table before walking over to where Hitoka is still lying (now on her back) on the carpet. “How’s my favorite niece, did you miss me?” they coo, easily scooping her up and dropping a kiss on her hair.

“Now come on you two, we have less than forty-five minutes to get this place ready. Noya are you still eating breakfast?”

“I just woke up!” Noya sputters.

“You just woke up? What happened to being the first one up in the morning?” Suga turns to glare at Asahi, “Asahi, I trusted you at least to get him up in time. Have you two never thrown a party before? You can’t just wake up an hour before the event!”

“I’m sorry! I just didn’t want to wake him, he was so peaceful, and he got so little sleep the past two days. If he slept past ten, I was going to get him up.” Asahi’s puppy eyes are devastating, but Suga remains strong.

“Fine, it’s all good now. You’re just lucky I’m here.” They start unpacking bags of decorations with one hand still holding Hitoka in the other arm.

Noya finishes his breakfast and goes to help. Suga looks up, starting to smile at him, and instead, startles. “Noya.”

“Yes?”

“Why aren’t you wearing any pants?”

Noya frowns and looks down at himself, “oops!” He’s wearing one of Asahi’s too big shirts that comes down to the middle of his thighs, and only underwear underneath. “My bad, I’ll go change.”

Asahi, who was in the middle of putting away the food Suga brought, goes bright red and covers his face with a squeak. Suga just cackles.

When Noya comes back, Suga and Asahi are spreading out decorations and Hitoka is asleep in Suga’s arms. “Do you want me to go put her in her crib?”

Suga nods holding Hitoka out, “don’t forget to turn on the baby monitor.”

Hitoka sleeps soundly through Noya gently placing her down in her crib and fiddling with the baby monitor that only Asahi knows how to work. After a few minutes of random buzzing and beeping, he figures it out.

Returning to the main room for the second time, he is immediately put to work blowing up balloons while Asahi and Suga hang up decorations.

It seems barely any time has passed when there’s a knock at the door and Asahi walks over to open it as the dogs scramble about whining and barking. The main room is now covered in decorations and balloons in various pastels.

“See Suga, most people knock on other’s doors before just walking into the apartment. It’s called common curtesy.”

Suga snorts, “Like you don’t just walk into my apartment whenever you run out of something.” Noya sticks his tongue out at them.

“Noya!” Tanka’s voice booms from the front door.

“Ryu!” Noya yells back.

“Noya-ojichan!”

“Chi-chan!”

And then a tiny boy is flying down the hallway, intent on barreling Noya over with two even smaller boys trailing behind. Noya squats down to catch them all in his arms with a grunt.

“Jichan!” the light-haired twin buries his face in Noya’s stomach, “don’ go ‘gain.”

“Chichi says you go to U-S-A,” the other twin enunciates very carefully, he then tugs on Noya’s shirt, “stay here,” his tiny face twists up in concentration and he glances behind him at his mom, “please.”

Noya coos, but before he can say that he’s staying, the oldest of the boys speaks up, “Noya-ojichan! ‘Sashi and Kaz are trying to say that we missed you! You were gone sooo long!” then he flings his arms around Noya’s neck, nearly throwing him off balance.

“Aw, I missed you kiddos too! You all got so big! Kara is nearly as tall as me!” Chikara giggles and pokes him, “Your dad was right, I was in the USA, that’s where I got your new cousin. But I’m back now, and I’m staying for a while. So, you’ll get lots of quality time with your favorite ojichan.”

The boys giggle and tighten their hug before releasing Noya to attack his husband instead. When he stands, he finds Tanka in front of him with a wide grin and his arms open for a hug. Noya steps forward and returns the hug. “I missed you, Noya. You gotta start taking me along on these long friggin trips of yours.”

“I missed you too, Ryu. I would if I could,” he steps back from the hug to grin widely at Tanaka before turning to look for Tanaka’s wife. “Kiyoko!”

“It’s good to have you back, Noya,” she steps forward to give him a brief hug as well.

“It’s good to be back! Ah,” Kiyoko holds out three wrapped gifts, “I’ll take those from you.”

He takes the gifts over to the coffee table while Tanaka and Kiyoko greet Asahi, who has finally untangled himself from the little boys.

“So, where’s the baby?” Tanaka asks.

“Ah, she’s still asleep in her crib I think,” Asahi says.

“I’ll go get her!” Noya practically skips down the hallway as excited as he is to introduce his friends to his daughter.

He comes back to the room holding the sleeping baby, “here she is! Be careful though; she’s still asleep.”

Tanka jogs over, “oh, she’s so tiny and cute! Can I hold her?”

“Of course, man,” Noya gently transfers Hitoka to Tanka’s arms. “Isn’t she just perfect! She’s so soft right?”

Tanaka nods along, cooing and gently rubbing his thumb over her cheeks, “wow, you really got the prettiest little girl, didn’t you Noya.”

“Right! Me and Asahi are so lucky!” Noya grins wide and bright at his husband as he and Kiyoko walk over.

“Really lucky,” Asahi replies slipping his arm around Noya and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“She’s darling, may I?” Kiyoko asks, holding her arms out. Asahi nods and Kiyoko takes Hitoka from Tanka. She cradles the baby, lowering her head to sniff the top of her head. She breathes in mumbling, “aw, you have to love the sweet baby smell.”

“Gosh, right? It’s the best,” Noya says, “she also has the best toes; they are simply too tiny and adorable to even exist.”

“Baby toes!” Tanaka cries, then he scoops up Kazuhito, who was tugging on his pants, “isn’t that right, Kaz? Your toes aren’t quite so small anymore, but they’re still adorable, don’t worry.”

They spend the next ten minutes catching up and cooing over Hitoka, Kazuhito still trying to worm his way out of his father’s arms as the Tanaka kids are introduced to Hitoka. Asahi holds Hisashi to better see Hitoka and lets the one-and-a-half-year-old play with his long hair, effectively ruining his pretty bun.

Chikara is telling Noya all about the penguins he saw at the local aquarium when someone else knocks on the door, “Kara and I will get it,” Noya says, jumping up and pulling Kara with him towards the door. He opens it to find a young woman standing on the other side holding a kid that looks about the twins’ age. “Hello?”

“Kaori-san!” Chikara cries giving a little bow.

“Hi, Chikara-kun!” she smiles down at the child, ruffling his hair. Then she looks to Noya, “You must be Nishinoya-san then. My name is Suzumede Kaori, I’m a friend of Kiyoko. Suga-san said I should come, hopefully that’s okay?”

“Of course! It’s great to meet you Suzumede-san, please come in. And call me Noya.” She follows him and Chikara into the living room, where everyone else is still chatting.

“Oh, Kaori! I see you’ve met Noya now,” Kiyoko says, passing Hitoka back to Asahi so she can give the other woman a quick hug. “You know everyone else here, though, yes?”

Kaori nods and waves to Suga who is heading over from the kitchen. She then turns to her daughter who is now wriggling in her arms, “do you want to say hi to Kiyoko-san, Mao?”

“Hello, Kiko-san,” the kid, Mao, says.

“Hello, Mao-chan. Would you like to go play with the boys?” Kiyoko asks her.

“Yes!” she says, eyes practically sparkling. Her mom laughs and sets her down on the floor so she can toddle over to where the twins are.

“Noya-ojichan, I’m also going to go play, okay?” Chikara tells him, staring up with earnest eyes.

“Okay, Kara-chan. I’ll be fine here,” Noya says with a laugh.

“I met Kaori at a mom’s group I went to with the twins,” Kiyoko tells him, “she had Mao just a month before I had the twins. She didn’t have a huge support system like I do and neither of us had any mom friends, so we talk a lot. She’s hung out with the whole group a few times too.”

“That’s great,” Noya says.

“Suzu-san! I’m so glad you could come!” Suga says, joining the group, “Do you want to see the baby?” he asks gesturing to where Asahi is standing on the other side of the group with Hitoka.

“Of course.”

“This is Hitoka-chan, Noya brought her back from California. Isn’t she darling?”

“She’s beautiful,” Kaori smiles back at Noya, “Congratulations, Noya-san, Asahi-san.”

“Thanks!”

“Thank you,” Noya and Asahi chorus. “Would you like to hold her, Suzumede-san?”

“I would love to,” she replies, “and please, just Suzu or Kaori is fine, we’re all friends now.” She takes Hitoka and coos down at her, rocking her gently and stroking her hair.

“Kaori-chan is a wonder with babies, they all adore her. If you ever need help, she’s the one to go to,” says Kiyoko.

Kaori flushes, “Kiyoko! You flatter me too much.”

Kiyoko just grins back, “it’s true though.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Noya says, “Toka kept me awake the whole flight back to Tokyo. Sometimes it seems impossible to calm her down,” he laughs.

“Hisashi was the worst to get to sleep,” Tanaka jumps into the conversation, “Kazuhito was great, but ‘Sashi would wake him back up just because he refused to go to sleep,” he sighs.

“Luckily, Mao was never like that.”

Their conversation was interrupted by knocking on the door once again. This time, when Noya opens the door, he knows who it is.

“Morisuke! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Noya yells embracing the sandy haired man.

“Hi, Yuu. Maybe that’s because you’re always out travelling the world,” Yaku teases, hugging him back.

“Do I not get a hello?” Yaku’s giant boyfriend pouts.

“Hello, Lev! And hello, Sou!” Noya says, finally pulling away from Yaku to take in the tall Russian and his son, “come on in guys, everyone else is already in the living room.”

“Out, out, out, out,” Sou chants from where he’s currently trapped in his stroller.

“In a minute, Sou-chan,” Yaku replies, taking off his shoes.

“I’ve got you, Sou!” Lev says. Once Sou is freed, they both head to the living room.

“Ehh,” Noya gabs Yaku’s shoulder and starts shaking him. “Look at you all! A happy little family.”

Yaku blushes bright red and turns to walk towards the main room as well, “stoppp.”

“I mean it took you long enough,” Noya says, trailing him, “What? Only two years of banging him before you finally asked him out?”

“Shut up, Yuu. Besides, we stopped ‘banging’ when Sou came along.”

“Right, right, anyways I’m happy for you two. You’ll have to tell me all about it later.”

“Sure,” Yaku responds as they enter the living room.

“This is Kazuhito, and this is Hisashi, and this is Mao. They’re all just a few months younger than you,” Tanaka was telling Sou. “You can all hang out and play together while the adults talk.”

“Be good and play nice with the other kids for papa, ok Sou?”

“Okay, Papa!” Sou smiles wide and toothy. Lev pats his head twice and then drapes himself across Yaku as the kid runs off.

“Yaku! Aren’t we such good parents! Look at all the parent friends we have now! Remember when you were like, ‘grr, Lev you’re such an idiot, you don’t know how to take care of a child. You don’t even know any other people with kids.’”

“Lev, shut up,” says Yaku, elbowing him in the gut, “anyways, introduce us to your daughter, Noya.”

“Yes, where is she?”

“Ah, I think Suzumede-san still has her, over this way,” he leads them over to the rest of the group. Hitoka is still being held by Kaori, but she is awake now and blinking up at everyone.

“Lev, Morisuke, this is Suzumede Kaori. She’s one of Kiyoko’s good friends. And you remember Kiyoko-san of course, and Tanaka-san, her husband.”

“Hell yeah, I am!” Tanaka interrupts.

Noya snickers, “Suga-san is over there, and of course my husband, Asahi-san! And currently being held by Kaori-san is my beautiful little girl, Hitoka-chan. Kaori-san, this is my good friend Yaku-san and his boyfriend Haiba-san.”

“Gosh! She’s so teeny tiny! Can I hold her?” Lev asks.

“If it’s fine with Noya-san, then of course,” Kaori says. When Noya nods, Lev scoops her up and cuddles her to him. He coos at her in Russian, turning to face Yaku and continuing to babble in a mix of Russian and Japanese. Yaku, seemingly used to it, responds to his babble in the same slurry of Russian and Japanese and gently touches Hitoka’s cheek.

“She’s very cute,” Yaku says to Noya, thankfully just in Japanese, “Congratulations to you and Asahi.”

“Thanks,” Noya says just as Suga comes crashing into Yaku.

“Yaku-chan! How’s the boyfriend gig?” they ask.

“Oh, get off me, you. At least I have one.”

“Ouch, must all my friends remind me of that constantly?” Suga steps back clutching their chest in mock betrayal.

Yaku just laughs and smacks their shoulder, “anyways you’re a wonder for putting this all together so quickly. I adore Noya, but he really just picked up a kid and tossed all this responsibility on you last minute didn’t he.”

“Hey!” Noya protests. Yaku and Suga predictably ignore him.

“Honestly, I love the kid, but absolutely no warning. One moment I’m relaxing after a long shift and the next, Asahi’s calling me to say Noya’s bringing a kid home from California. Come on, let’s go get some wine.” Suga ruffles Noya’s hair with a wink and leaves with Yaku for the kitchen.

“Asahi,” Noya whines, “Suga and Yaku are being mean to me again.”

Kiyoko, completely straight faced, says, “you deserve it.”

“Kiyoko, no!” Noya cries falling dramatically to the floor. “Asahi, babe, come rescue me from this cruelty.”

“Hmm, no.”

“Asahiii, how cruel!” Noya pouts still lying on the floor on his back.

“And this is the man you want to raise a child with?” Kiyoko asks Asahi with a laugh.

“Savage, Ki-chan!” Tanaka yells from where he’s still playing with the kids.

“Ryu! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Sorry, man, but I have to agree with my wife, it’s in the contract.”

Noya shakes his head, but grins. Everyone thinks that Kiyoko and Tanaka are complete opposites, that they were crazy for getting married, even crazier for getting married so young. But in all honesty, they’re perfect for each other. They have equal passion, equal love for everything they do and everyone they’re close to. Kiyoko is just quiet about her passions while Tanaka shouts them at the top of his lungs.

“Betrayed by everyone I love!”

“Don’t worry, Noya-san. Hitoka-chan hasn’t betrayed you yet,” Lev says, holding his daughter so that she is in his field of vision.

“That’s right! Come here Toka-chan; you’re my favorite anyways.” He jumps up and sweeps Hitoka into his arms. “My sweet little girl, you’ll never be so mean to me will you,” he coos into her hair. She blinks up at him and then blows a spit bubble. Asahi’s deep laugh bursts out and soon the rest of the group is collapsing into giggles. Even Suga and Yaku in the kitchen are laughing with the rest.

The party continues smoothly with everyone getting along and chatting it up. They start on making lunch all together when the sound of knocking rings through the apartment once again.

“Who else did you invite?” Noya hears Asahi ask as he makes his way towards the door.

“You’ll see,” is Suga’s cryptic reply.

Noya opens the door to find a very familiar face staring back. “Nee-chan!” he nearly launches himself into his sister’s arms before he remembers that he’s still holding Hitoka. He settles for giving her a half hug.

“Yuu-chan!” she buries her face in his shoulder, “it’s been way too long. Did you know that I’ve seen haha and chichi more recently than I’ve seen you? That’s ridiculous.”

“Ugh, I agree. I’m sorry for being gone so long.”

She waves her hand in dismissal. “So, is this her?”

“Yes! This is Hitoka-chan, my daughter,” he glances back to the rest of the house where Asahi is, “our daughter.”

“Wow,” his sister breathes out. “That’s amazing, she’s amazing. And so cute!”

“Do you want to hold her?”

“Obviously!” she carefully takes Hitoka and begins to rock her.

Then, Noya notices something else. “Ah! Hello nii-san! Please come on in. I’m so sorry, I got so excited I didn’t even notice you there.”

His brother-in-law chuckles, “it’s no problem Yuu. Ah, I have gifts?”

“Right! Thank you. You can put them over here on the coffee table,” he leads the way into the house, his sister trailing in the back still cooing over Hitoka, “that’s what everyone else has been doing.”

They make their way to the kitchen, where everyone else is still congregating. He claps twice to catch their attention, “everyone this is my nee-chan, Takagi Emi and her husband Takagi Kenshin. Nee-chan, Nii-san, this is everyone. My husband Asahi of course, Suga whom I assume you spoke to, my best friend Tanaka, his wife Kiyoko, her friend Suzumede, my friend Yaku, and his boyfriend Lev.” Everyone waves or nods as they are introduced. He gestures to the living room where the kids can be seen playing with the toys Noya and Asahi have for the Tanaka kids, “Tanaka and Kiyoko have three boys, Suzumede has a daughter, and Lev and Yaku have a son.”

Asahi comes over to talk to his sister, and Noya makes his way to Suga.

“Suga-chan, you didn’t tell me you invited nee-chan!”

Suga gives a feral grin, pleased with themself, “that’s because it was a surprise, dumbass.”

Noya wraps his arms around Suga’s waist, “thank you.”

Suga’s voice goes soft when they respond, “you’re welcome.”

Noya isn’t close with his parents and never was growing up. His grandparents were always the ones to make him and his sisters’ lunch, kiss their booboos better, tuck them into bed. When his grandmother died, it was the hardest thing that he ever went through. He was always on good terms with his three older sisters, but they were never best friends. It still hurt when he came out and his oldest sister and youngest older sister cut off all contact with him. Fortunately, Emi never shared their views, and as adults she and Noya were close. When Noya took Hitoka home, he vowed to never let the family he made fall apart like his had.

Hitoka’s loud cries startle him out of his thoughts. He pulls out of Suga’s embrace to turn and see his sister staring down at Hitoka in a mix of horror and fear. Asahi quickly sweeps Hitoka into his arms and walks over to grab a bottle. The rest of the kitchen gets back to cooking and talking while Asahi takes care of Hitoka. Noya watches from across the kitchen as Asahi heats the bottle properly then gives it to Hitoka who sucks at it greedily. He’s unable stop grinning at the sight of his husband and his daughter together surrounded by their friends and family.

“Admiring the view?” Tanka asks, moving close to nudge him in the side.

“Hey! I’m married to him, I’m allowed to!” Noya laughs.

“You both are ridiculously whipped,” Suga laughs. They move across the kitchen to help with cooking.

“I won’t even deny that. There’s just something about seeing the person you love being sweet with your kids, isn’t there,” Tanaka says with a sigh and a glance at where Kiyoko is bouncing Kazuhito on her side while talking to Yaku.

“Yeah, there really is,” Noya agrees.

“What are you two doing?” Lev interrupts.

“Admiring our spouses,” Tanaka responds easily.

Lev sighs, “Yukkun is so pretty but he always fusses when he catches me staring,” he grins conspiratorially, “I think that’s because he’s embarrassed though.”

Noya laughs, “You’re probably right. Asahi’s the same way; he gets flustered over the littlest things. I told him he looked beautiful over the phone and he accidently hung up on me.”

The other two laugh and look fondly out into the house where Noya and Asahi’s loved ones are all gathered. Well, most of them anyways. He can’t help but feel a bit sad; Asahi’s mother and sister still live fairly far, in Miyagi, and his sister has a demanding job and a family of her own. He’s sure they’ll be around soon though. Mama Asahi adores her grandkids.

They next hour or so of the party is spent sneaking in tastes of the food and trying not to get caught by those making the food, eventually Suga kicks the three of them out of the kitchen, muttering about how they’re just like children and telling them it will be ready soon enough. Soon enough comes quickly and they are a few minutes into the meal when there’s another knock on the door. Tanaka stands saying, “took her long enough,” and heads towards the door with the dogs (who were eventually released from where they had been confined in the bedroom).

Noya listens curiously as the door is opened and Tanaka says, “where were you? I was starting to get worried, nee-san.”

“Aw, you worry too much Ryu, get out of that damn head!”

“Nee-san!” Noya is practically jumping out of his chair to run and embrace Tanaka Saeko as her brother scolds her for cursing loud enough for the kids to hear.

“Noya! Look at you!” She grabs him in a hug, then pulls back scanning him from head to toe, “God, I haven’t seen you in ages and then you go and get a kid? By the way you have to tell me all about California, I’ve heard the surfing there is so fun!” She drags both Tanaka and Noya down the hall with an iron grip on each of their arms. “Wow, I just can’t believe I finally have a niece! We definitely need more girls in this family. Now, where is she!” she finally ends her rant upon entering the dining room.

Noya, barely reeling from all the years he’s known Saeko just grins and says, “Asahi’s got her right now.”

“Oh!” and then she’s releasing Noya and Tanaka to sweep over to where Asahi is hurriedly standing. In less than a second she’s snatched Hitoka and held her high into the air crowing victoriously; she settles the baby down into her arms, then, and places a gentle kiss to her forehead, “hello Hitoka-chan, I’m going to be one of your obachans.”

She continues to talk to Hitoka while Tanaka turns to the room at large, “everyone, meet my sister, Tanaka Saeko.”

Saeko’s head pops up and she laughs at the various baffled and amused looks she gets. “Please, everyone here can just can me Nee-san. Oh, hello older Noya, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” she pauses, eyes narrowing as she studies Noya’s sister, “how’s everything with the family?”

Emi gives a tight smile, she and Saeko have this almost competitiveness over who loves and supports Noya more, it’s a bit weird honestly, but it’s certainly nice to feel so loved; it helps to make up for hole where his other sisters used to be. “Oh, you know. I saw haha and chichi recently, briefly, but I haven’t seen Nao or Ran since Christmas three years ago. And of course, Ojiisan wanted to come, but he couldn’t quite make it out here in time.”

“Ah, well that’s good. Mineo-san is so sweet; I certainly miss seeing him.”

“Anyways,” Tanaka says, steering things back on track, “nee-chan, I think you already know Suga and Kaori and Kaori’s daughter Mao. The sandy-haired one is Yaku, and the tall half-Russian is his boyfriend Lev, the tall half-Russian child is their son Sou.”

“Great to meet you all! Can we get back to eating now? I see most of you all have already started,” Saeko settles Hitoka back into Asahi’s waiting arms and heads for an empty spot.

“You were late!” Tanaka shouts.

The siblings continue to bicker as they all sit back down, and everyone starts eating again. Noya’s hand finds Asahi’s under the table and he smiles as their fingers tangle together. They’re surrounded by their friends, family, and some that could honestly be considered both, and Noya’s never felt more loved. The baby settled in the sling against Asahi’s chest blows another spit bubble and Noya can’t help but feel giddy with the promise of everything to come.

~~~

Almost four hours later, Noya and Tanaka are moving all the gifts to the nursery, which is beginning to look much more like a nursery and much less like a hastily cleaned out guest room. His conversation with Tanaka is interrupted by his sister when he enters the living room. Tanka gives his sister a little wave and pats Noya’s shoulder, then heads of in the direction of his kids.

“Yuu-chan, Kenshin and I have to head out now. Call me, soon okay? We need to hang out more before you leave on your next great adventure.”

“Of course, of course,” he responds, giving her a hug.

“Hitoka-chan is adorable, congratulations again. I know you have tons of people to help you, but if you ever need a sitter, Kenshin and I would be happy to help,” she pulls back and Noya appreciates that she’s one of the few people he doesn’t have to look up to make eye contact with. “Love you little brother, keep in contact! I want to see my favorite niece often, so I’ll talk with Asahi-chan about planning things, okay?”

Asahi, from where he has walked over to join Noya laughs.

“Nee-chan! I can plan meet ups too!” she scoffs playfully and ruffles his hair, “hey! I can! He’s just better at it,” he trails off looking up to his husband for assistance in proving his competence.

His husband just shrugs and says, “you can, they just often end up being very last minute.”

“You’re just an ADHD gremlin,” his sister says, “you can, but you forget.”

“Fine, I’ll make sure to actually stay in touch though, I promise it won’t be so long till we get together again.”

“Good. Goodbye Asahi-chan, thank you for having us,” she smiles and heads towards the door. “Kenshin! Come on love, thank our hosts, and then we have to head out! We’re not going to be late to poker night again.”

Kenshin leaves his conversation with Suga and Saeko to walk towards his wife. “Bye Nishinoya-sans, thank you so much for hosting us.” He waves at them, “It was great to see you and your new kiddo, congratulations! We’ll have to get together again soon.”

Noya shouts his goodbyes, then the two are out the door. Out of everyone that came, only the Tanakas, Suga, and Saeko are left now.

Tanaka sighs deeply and walks back over to Noya and Asahi, “I’ve got Nomura opening for me, but I do need to get down to the restaurant at some point.”

“Yeah, Ryu, course.”

“And first I need to help Kiyo-chan wrangle the kiddos home so that Kara can pick up what he needs for gymnastics.”

There’s a little gasp from where Kiyoko is herding the children towards the door. “I get to go to gymnastics tonight?”

“Yes, Chi-chan, I thought we talked about this,” Kiyoko says.

Chikara pouts, “I forgot! I love gymnastics.”

“Yeah bud! That’s why we have to get home, so I can take you,” Tanka grins and walks towards the front door to help with shoes and jackets.

“Okay, Touchan!”

Tanaka laughs and waves at them, “see you later, Yuu, Asahi, Suga.”

“Bye, Ryu, bye Kiyoko. Have fun at gymnastics, Kara!”

“Bye Noya-ojichan, bye ‘Sahi-ojichan, bye Suga-chan!” Chikara shouts back.

“See you all Monday,” Kiyoko says, following her family out the door.

“See you then!” Asahi calls back.

“I’m bringing a new cocktail one of my coworkers showed me,” Suga shouts after them.

“Keep my brother in line!” Saeko calls from the kitchen. Kiyoko gives her a smile and a wink before the door closes behind her.

Tanaka Saeko wraps up her conversation with Suga and leaves shortly after her brother and his family. Suga is quick to follow, placing Hitoka in Noya’s arms and blowing a kiss as they leave.

“Call me if you have any questions, or if you need any help,” they cock their head, “or, just drop by my apartment, whatever works.”

The door thuds shut behind them and Noya smiles, “That was fun! And see, I told you we would get everything we need from the baby shower!”

Asahi huffs a laugh, “yeah, I guess you were right.” He drapes his arms over Noya’s shoulders and drops a kiss onto his hair, right behind where it’s bleached “I’m socially exhausted though. Do you mind if I just work on my designs for a bit?”

“Of course, babe! Is it okay if I’m in the room?”

Noya feels Asahi’s hum of acknowledgement against his back before he speaks, “yeah, you and Hitoka are just fine.” Noya’s grin is giddy as he turns around to pull Asahi into a kiss.

“Just fine?” he mumbles against his mouth.

“Mm,” Asahi kisses him slowly, mapping out his mouth, relearning each other after a month apart. “Pretty great actually, as long as you’re not too loud.”

“Asahi!” His startled giggle turns to a full-on laugh as Asahi peppers his face with kisses, dragging his chin against Noya’s face in a way he knows tickles. “Stop! Stop! Show mercy I beg you! If not for me, then at least for Toka-chan!”

Asahi pulls back with a laugh, his arms still draped around Noya. He smiles down at their daughter, tucked comfortably against Noya’s chest, sleeping even as Noya squirmed. “For Hitoka, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Noya says with a breathy laugh, heart full to bursting, “for Hitoka.”


End file.
